ST. PAUL – After a disappointing loss on Saturday, the St. Catherine University soccer team was looking to bounce back in a big way Tuesday afternoon against the University of Wisconsin-Superior. The Wildcats did just that, beating the visiting Yellow Jackets 6-0 behind a barrage of goals in both halves.

"I am very happy with how the game went today," soccer head coach Chris Citowicki said after the game. "We created lots of good opportunities and managed to put six of them away."

St. Kate's wasted no time creating those opportunities, playing aggressively from the get go despite Superior's attempts to slow down the pace of play. As a result, the Wildcats scored their first goal less than five minutes into the game. Anna Pedersen (Stillwater, Minn. / Stillwater) tried to breakaway on a pass from Kaitlin Machovec (Woodbury, Minn. / North St. Paul) but was tackled at the top of the box by Yellow Jackets. However, Hannah Okerstrom (Bayport, Minn. / Stillwater) was there to pick up her teammate, picking up the loose ball and shooting it past the Superior keeper, giving St. Kate's a 1-0 lead five minutes into the game.

The Yellow Jackets managed to hold off the Wildcats for the next 20 minutes, but it was only a matter of time before St. Kate's scored again. Nicole Palsgrove (Maple Grove, Minn. / Wayzeta) made sure of that with a beautiful pass up the middle of the field. Waiting there was Allie Bird, who broke away from the Superior defender to score her fifth goal of the season.

Seven minutes later, Brittany Kollman (Fergus Falls, Minn. / Kennedy Secondary) scored her first goal of the season, giving the Wildcats a 3-0 lead at the half. Julia Zyla (Inver Grove Heights, Minn. / Trinity) and Marissa Janssen (Oakdale, Minn. / North) assisted on the play, bringing Zyla's career assists total to 10. That ties her for eighth all-time at St. Kate's in career assists.

While the 3-0 lead proved to be enough, St. Kate's scored three more goals in the second half to give themselves a comfortable cushion. Bird and Okerstrom scored their second goals of the game in the 56th and 80th minute. Bird's was a left footer in front of the goal, thanks to a perfect pass from Gabi Fettig (Farmington, Minn. / Farmington), while Okerstrom's was a tic-tac-toe play with assists to Machovec and Julie Rupp (North Branch, Minn. / North Branch).

One other Wildcat scored their first goal of the season in the final minutes of regulation. Kelly Molitor (Lakeville, Minn. / Lakeville South) scored at 83:57 off a throw in from Allie Boucher (Stillwater, Minn. / Stillwater), insuring St. Kate's 6-0 victory.

While the offense was busy scoring goals, Jessica Perez-Adame (San Jacinto, Calif. / San Jacinto) was stellar in net for the Wildcats. The junior goalkeeper made two saves in her first collegiate start and earned the first shut out of the season for St. Kate's. It's the first time in Citowicki's tenure that a starting goalkeeper has earned a shutout in their first ever career start.

"I'm very happy with how focused we were defensively," Citowicki complemented. "Everything, our energy level and effort, was great."

Thanks to the victory, the Wildcats overall record improves to 7-2-1. However, their work for the week isn't done. With nonconference games behind them, St. Kate's turns its focus to the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC). The Wildcats end the season with seven consecutive MIAC games, starting with Saturday, when the host St. Olaf College at 1 p.m. at St. Kate's field.